Bayern coach Heynckes says he is not quitting

Coach Jupp Heynckes has rejected reports he will quit Bayern Munich at the end of the season when his contract expires.

Written by Agence-France Presse

Read Time: 2 mins

Munich:

Coach Jupp Heynckes has rejected reports he will quit Bayern Munich at the end of the season when his contract expires.

"We have a clear understanding, (Bayern chairman) Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the board and I. We will sit down in the spring and see what the situation is and see how things are going," Heynckes told German Sky.

"And then we will make a decision. I have not said that I will stop."

Bayern started the new season on Saturday with a convincing 3-0 win at Bundesliga new-boys Greuther Fuerth thanks to goals by Thomas Mueller, Marco Mandzukic and Arjen Robben.

Heynckes will turn 68 a month before his contract expires in June 2013 and says he still has plenty of energy as he starts his second season in charge, on his third stint as Bayern coach, and clarified comments he made to Munich's Sueddeutsche Zeitung on Saturday.

"The thing is, if you read the whole interview, the main point that I expressed was that I will quit," he said.

"But on the contrary. I think I am having a lot of fun and taking pleasure from my job. I have a lot of passion for it, I am glad the season has started again."

But Heynckes acknowledged that comments he made in the newspaper interview could have been misinterpreted.

"I'll say this with all honesty: we have a two-year contract which finishes on June 30, 2013. And then another stage of life comes to an end," Heynckes told the newspaper, but later emphasised to Sky that nothing has been decided.

Speculation about Heynckes's future plans has been rife since the German media reported towards the end of last season that former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola had been approached to take over at Bayern next season.

But Bayern's director of sport Matthias Sammer insisted nothing has been decided.

"We are pretty relaxed about the whole thing, there is no Plan B and we will look at things next year," said Sammer on Saturday.

"Jupp Henyckes and I talk often about the daily work and sometimes about the future, but nothing concrete."

Heynckes's team came in for plenty of criticism in Germany in pre-season after losing both the German Cup and Champions League final in May.